I did email 18650.uk about where they source their cells from and this was their response:
We source Molicel’s from a number of supply chains, including Fogstar themselves.
We were actually involved in discussions to be joint distributors with them via NPE, but this did not take place at the time due to unrelated commercial issues.All the cells we supply are routed through stringent supply chain checks, as well as our own in house testing. Due to the nature of the secondary cell market, most of our stock is sourced from production overstock of major OEM’s (read Dyson, VW, Bosch, etc).
Because of strict contractual obligations in order to deal directly with the manufacture, traceability is often obscured to protect the original customer. This does not devalue the cells, nor mean that they are fake.
We have been successfully supplying many industries including small scale EV manufactures, Uni’s, Military and private sector pack builders for over 5 years. Our reputation for supplying genuine cells at great prices is far reaching.I’d be interested to see if there is anything more we could be doing for your community. We are soon launching a new website more focused for DIY pack builders, so I’ll be sure to let you know when that is live.
I trust that the cells are genuine and they are a reputable supplier (although I haven’t tested the cells yet), I’ve suggested that they join our community so they can answer any questions people may have.